The Path to True Love
by elenmai
Summary: AS Lily Evans and James Potter enter Hogwarts, their lives begin to change,.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Letter – Lily

It was early morning, on a day in late July. Lily and Petunia Evans were sitting in their family's large kitchen, watching their mother make breakfast. Petunia was kicking the leg of the table impatiently.

"_Must _you do that?" Lily asked, nudging her sister.

"I'm _bored_!" Petunia moaned. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Well, can you at least do it in some kind of rhythm? It's giving me a headache." Petunia stopped kicking.

"Sorry Lil. You know I hate getting up early in the summer holidays."

"Or during term time," Lily teased. Petunia smiled.

"Well…all right then, I just hate getting up. Mornings are just so…"

"Bright? Sunny?" Lily suggested, trying her hardest not to laugh.

"Boring," Petunia finished. Lily lost control, and stuffed a fist into her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. Petunia stuck her tongue out. Mrs Evans came over with their breakfast.

"Well, we can leave you here while we go and get your new school uniform…you won't be able to try it on, of course, but I'm sure we can use Lily as a rough guide to your size…" she teased.

"Of course. Because me and Lil, we're the exact same size." Although they were only ten months apart in age, Petunia was quite a bit taller than Lily. It was Lily, however, who was generally regarded as the prettier and cleverer of the two sisters. It was her eyes, most people agreed. An unusual, bright green, whilst Petunia's were large and pale. Lily's were usually described as 'enchanting' by various relatives. They looked even better against her red hair, much brighter than Petunia's blonde.

Not that it mattered much to them. They had always been inseparable. Especially now, when they were both due to start secondary school, having been born at different ends of the same school year.

"Well, you'll have to come with us then, won't you?" Lily said. At that moment, there was a thud of post on the doormat.

"I'll get it!" Petunia cried, jumping from her seat and running into the hallway. Lily and her mother looked at each other.

"For somebody who's not a morning person, she's very energetic," Mrs Evans commented. There was a shout from the hall.

"Lil! There's one for you!" Petunia came back into the kitchen, handed Lily her letter, gave her mother the rest of the post, then peered over her sister's shoulder at the letter. Lily pushed her away.

"Hey, nosy!" She opened the letter slowly, looking at the heavy parchment that made the envelope. She started to read, her eyes getting wider with each line, and her mouth opening.

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

She read it three times, before wordlessly handing it to her mother. Petunia looked at her sister.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It must be some kind of joke…" Lily whispered.

"_What_?" Petunia persisted. "Lil!"

"Hog – Hogwarts? Witchcraft and Wizardry? Lily, this is…unbelievable!" Mrs Evans said.

"_What?"_ Petunia shouted. Mrs Evans looked at Lily, who nodded. She passed the letter across the table to Petunia. Petunia read it.

"How…how can you be a witch? It's just not possible!" Lily shook her head, dazed.

"Well, strange things do happen when I'm around. Like that time when next door's dog –"

"Coincidence!" Petunia snapped. She'd never liked it when strange things happened. "Well, if you are, how come I'm not? I mean, we're sisters and everything."

"Well, I know I'm not a witch. And I doubt your father is," Mrs Evans said. "So maybe it doesn't work that way. Anyway, maybe your letter will come tomorrow."

"And strange things don't happen to you," Lily said.

"But…it shouldn't work at all! This just can't be true!" Petunia said, her voice rising. There was a faint popping sound, but all three of them ignored it. "It just couldn't work…" Petunia said.

"But, miraculously, it does," said somebody. They all turned around. There stood an old man with long, silver hair and a matching beard, with bright blue eyes behind his half-moon glasses and a very crooked nose.

Petunia screamed and jumped behind Lily, who was edging away from the stranger. Mrs Evans moved towards the kitchen counter, where there was a sharp knife she had been using to cut bread.

"Who – who are you? How did you get in here?" she gasped after a moment. The stranger smiled.

"My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said, pointing to the letter that Petunia had dropped onto the table in her fright. "As to my entry, I Apparated, which is a skill you will eventually learn at my school, Miss Evans." He smiled at Lily, who had stopped moving away, although she hadn't moved forward either.

"So, it's all true then? I'm really…I'm really a witch?" Professor Dumbledore nodded.

"Indeed. And, if you choose to accept the offer, I would be happy to accompany you to Diagon Alley to purchase everything you will need for your first year." He gestured towards a second piece of paper that had fallen out of the envelope, which Lily picked up and read hastily. It was a list of everything she would need for the school, including a wand, a cauldron, and many odd-sounding books.

"Where is this…Diagon Alley? How much is all this going to cost?" Mrs Evans asked, putting down the knife. Petunia, however, was still hiding behind her sister.

"Diagon Alley is a street of wizarding shops underneath London. As to the cost, money must be converted to wizarding money, but the cost is not too great…of course, if you cannot afford it, there is a fund for such things…"

"There's no need. I'm sure we can afford it…I'm assuming we no longer need to buy her things for her for the school she was going to attend?"

"No, that is no longer necessary. Also, all Muggle records of your daughter's school attendance will be modified so that there is no trouble with your authorities."

"Um…Muggle?" Lily asked. Professor Dumbledore smiled.

"It is what we call non-magical people, such as your family. Although certain families have produced wizards for generations, there will be many young witches and wizards in your year who, like you, are Muggle-born," he explained.

For the first time since Professor Dumbledore's arrival, Petunia moved slightly from behind Lily.

"So…I can't go then?" Professor Dumbledore shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Miss Evans, but you, like the rest of your family, are a Muggle. There can be no place for you at Hogwarts." He turned to Mrs Evans. "Now, if we can make arrangements."

Lily clattered into the kitchen, a cauldron full of books swinging from one hand and a cage containing a large tawny owl in the other.

"Mum! Dad! Petunia! I'm home!" she called. Her parents came into the kitchen through the other door, smiling broadly. Lily put her things carefully down on the floor and ran towards her parents.

"Dad! Did Mum tell you? I'm going to be a witch!" she cried, hugging her father.

"Of course she did, darling. It's wonderful, isn't it?" her father replied, looking at Professor Dumbledore who had come in behind Lily.

"I must go now," Dumbledore said. "I have other things to do…but I shall see you on September the first, Miss Evans. I trust you remember how to get to the Platform?" Lily nodded.

"Walk through the ticket barrier between platforms nine and ten," she recited. "Dad, you'll take me to King's Cross, won't you?" Mr Evans nodded.

Dumbledore smiled, waved goodbye, and then disappeared with a 'pop'. Mr and Mrs Evans stared after him, dumbstruck, but Lily bounced up and down excitedly.

"Do you like my owl, Mum?" she asked. "I've named her Cliodna. And I've got a magic wand! Look!" She picked a box from her cauldron and pulled out a wand. "Willow, ten and a quarter inches, swishy," she explained, waving it about. Her parents moved back slightly, just as Petunia came into the room.

"Is he gone…Lily! What are you doing?" she screamed. Lily put the wand down.

"I was just showing Mum and Dad…as if I would try to do anything to them, even if I had any idea of how to use it!" Petunia backed away.

"You're…you're just a freak!" she shouted, and ran out of the room. Lily looked at her parents, tears brimming in her eyes.

"What did I do?" she asked quietly. Her parents looked at each other.

"I think she's just in shock, darling. It'll be alright," Mrs Evans reassured her. Lily sighed.

"Do you think so? She seems pretty mad…" Mrs Evans put her arm around her daughter.

"Don't worry. It will all be fine by the time the holidays are over. Trust me. Now, let's look at your new things."

Three days later, Lily stood in the room she shared with Petunia, trying on her Hogwarts robes for the twenty-second time. She looked at herself absently in the mirror, wondering which of the school Houses she would be in. Professor Dumbledore at explained the different Houses when they were in Diagon Alley. She liked the sound of Ravenclaw, although she didn't think that being in Gryffindor would be too bad. Hufflepuff also sounded acceptable, but from what she'd heard of Slytherin, it didn't sound too good.

Lily sighed, and looked around the room. Her side, as always, was rather disorganised. Her new school things were everywhere, replacing the normal mess of books and magazines. Petunia's side – which had come much more defined over the last few days, when she refused to set foot on Lily's side – was much neater, everything in its place. Normally, Lily could bribe her sister into helping her tidy up, since Petunia hardly ever had to do any tidying of her own. However, since Lily had received her letter, Petunia hadn't spoken to her unless she absolutely had to. Mealtimes had become increasingly awkward, as their parents alternately tried to force the sisters to talk to each other or simply made forced conversation with one daughter at a time. That morning's breakfast had been eaten in total silence, since Mr Evans had left for work by the time the girls got up, and Mrs Evans seemed to have given up on getting the girls to talk.

Lily sighed, and changed back into her normal clothes. As she pulled her jumper over her head, Petunia came into the room. She surveyed Lily's side with a look of distain, particularly when she saw Lily's school robes on the bed. She quickly looked away as Lily looked up, and started rearranging her bookshelf.

"Petunia…" Lily began, but her sister started banging her books around so loudly that it was obvious she was trying not to listen. Lily stormed out of the room, stamping her feet as loudly as she could as she walked past Petunia.

"Freak," Petunia muttered. Lily spun around.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're a freak. And you'd better leave your side of the room tidy when you go to – when you leave. I'm not tidying it for you," Petunia snapped.

"Fine!" Lily shouted. "I don't want you near my stuff anyway!" She left, still stamping her feet as hard as she could. Petunia sat on the floor, her books abandoned, and tears running silently down her face.

At the bottom of the stairs, her sister did the same.

The summer holidays dragged on. Lily made various attempts to talk to her sister, but if Petunia did communicate with her, it was in insults, shouts or screams. Their parents stayed on the sidelines, wanting to support both their magical, brilliant daughter and the one left behind in the normal world. Any attempts on their part to mediate between their daughters resulted in both girls being mad at their parents as well as at each other.

Lily spent most of the remainder of the summer in the room she shared with Petunia, studying her school books. Petunia refused to go into the room longer than it took to fetch something, other than at night. This was not just due to the fact that Lily was usually in there, but also because Lily's owl, Cliodna, had also taken up residence there.

This left Petunia with little to do. As Lily was the more outgoing of the two, it was her that made most of the friends, and since the girls had previously been inseparable, all the friends Petunia had were friends with Lily first, so spending time with them without Lily would raise awkward questions. So she mostly sat in the kitchen, reading. This meant that she had to make a lot of trips to their room to fetch books, which gave her plenty of opportunities to glare at her sister.

Lily was sitting on her bed, reading 'Magical Theory' by Adalbert Waffling, when Petunia came in for the third time that day. As her sister searched noisily through her books, Lily looked up and cleared her throat.

"Petunia," she began. "Really, what's the point?" For the first time since Lily had learnt about Hogwarts, the two girls made eye contact. They stayed silent for a minute, before Petunia turned away.

"The point, _Lily_," she sneered. "Is that you're a freak. I don't want you anywhere near me. It's just an accident that we have the same parents – you're not my sister."

"You're jealous," Lily said.

"Jealous? Of a freak like you? I don't even know you!" Petunia said, her voice raised. With that, she got up and left the room, leaving Lily staring after her, fighting back the tears.

What was the point of magic, if it meant you lost your family?

Finally, the summer came to an end. It was the last day of August, the day before Lily was to leave for Hogwarts. All of her new school things were packed in her trunk, Cliodna was secured in her cage, and Lily was having trouble staying still. Petunia, on the other hand, was sulkier than ever. That evening, as the family watched television in the living room, Petunia sat as far away as was humanly possibly from her sister, not talking to anybody. When their parents went out of the room, Lily looked at her.

"Petunia, we can't just leave it like this..." she whispered. Petunia stared at her.

"Then don't leave."

"I told you you were jealous," Lily said. Petunia snorted.

"You couldn't ever just be normal, could you Lily? You always had to be one above me. Well, I'm going to be fine without you, while you go to a school full of freaks, and everybody forgets about you. Maybe then Mum and Dad will pay attention to me for once!" Petunia screamed. Lily looked at her.

"That's what you think? Get a life, Petunia."

"Get a sense of reality, Lily. Witches? What a load of crap!"

At that moment, their parents came back in, disturbed by the shouting.

"Petunia! Go to your room!" Mrs Evans shouted. Petunia stood up, picked up the cushion she'd been sitting on and threw it as hard as she could at Lily. Before it reached her, it changed direction, and hit the light. The lampshade swung around madly as Petunia left the room, Lily glaring after her. The picture on the television flickered, and her aprents looked at each other, worried. After a few moments, Mrs Evans looked at her daughter.

"Lily, darling? Perhaps you'd better go to bed now, you have to be up early in the morning." Lily nodded, and followed her sister up the stairs. Both girls lay awake, aware that the other was not sleeping, but not willing to talk either.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Letter - James

James Potter lay in bed, the blankets over his head, trying to hide both from the summer sunlight coming through his window and his mother's shouts.

"James! Post!" Mrs Potter shouted, for the sixth time. James groaned, and pulled his pillow over his head to block out the sound. After a few moments, his mother seemed to have stopped shouting, so he put it back. At that moment, his bedroom door opened and his mother came in, brandishing a letter.

"James! Do you not want to go to Hogwarts in September?" she asked. James shot up.

"I got my Hogwarts letter?" His mother rolled her eyes and threw the letter at him.

"Just read it. And be downstairs soon, we can finally go to Diagon Alley to get your supplies."

Yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, James tore open the letter and skimmed through it.

The family had taken it for granted that James would be accepted into Hogwarts – after all, the Potters were an old pure-blood family, and James was definitely magical. But as July had dragged on, and no Hogwarts letter had come, James had began to get nervous. Not that he'd shown it. To his family and his friends, he'd been completely confident – even more so than usual, which was a hard thing to do. But now, at last, he was in.

He read through the supply list and his mouth dropped open at the last line:

PLEASE NOTE THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

No broom...suddenly the prospect of going away to school didn't look so bright. James and his friends played Quidditch as often as they possibly could – and now they weren't allowed to have brooms. One of James' favourite dreams was the one where he was playing Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team – and he was certain he would be in Gryffindor – winning the Quidditch Cup, the House Cup...and now he'd have to wait for next year.

But still, he would be in Hogwarts. He could have a proper wand at last, learn how to do real magic. It was what he'd been waiting for, for the past several years. He wasn't going to let a little thing like not being allowed his broom to stop him having fun, he decided. And with that, he jumped out of bed and started getting dressed.

After a rushed breakfast and a quick journey by Floo powder, James and his mother arrived in Diagon Alley.

"Do you need to go to Gringotts Mum? Can I come with you?" James asked. Mrs Potter sighed.

"Yes, James, I do need to go. But we need to be quick, and if you..."

"I won't hold you up, I promise!" James said.

"Oh, all right. But hurry up, I haven't got all day!"

James followed his mother to the wizards' bank. Mrs Potter had only let him come with her to Diagon Alley a few times and only then because he needed new clothes. He had only once been into Gringotts, and he was eager to have another journey in one of the carts.

He surveyed the goblins with interest as they made their way across the marble floor. He paid no attention to his mother's conversation with a goblin, and only remembered where he was when his mother pulled him behind her.

"What did I say about hurrying, James?"

They emerged from the bank half an hour later, James feeling faintly sick from the motion of the cart, and made their way to Ollivander's to buy his wand.

This was the shop James had been looking forward to. Most of the other shops in Diagon Alley he had been to before – and after all, there was nothing very exciting about the robe shop, or Flourish and Blotts. A wand shop, on the other hand...

"Wave this, please," Mr Ollivander instructed him, thrusting a wand into his hand. James waved it, but nothing happened. Mr Ollivander snatched it away. They repeated this a few times, until, finally, a shower of sparks emitted from one of the wands.

"Excellent," Mr Ollivander said. "Mahogany. Eleven inches. Pliable. Excellent for transfiguration." James looked at his mother, who smiled faintly, and paid for the wand.

"He is a bit odd, isn't he?" she said as they left the shop. James nodded.

James spent the last few weeks of the holidays very bored, and very excited. He couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts, and quizzed his parents constantly about the school, and which other wizarding children would be in his year.

"I think one of the Black boys is due to start this year," his mother told him. "Is it Regulus who's James' age, darling?" she asked her husband.

"No, he's a couple of years younger. It's Sirius who should be in James' year." Mr Potter looked at his son over the top of his Daily Prophet. "Not that you should be mixing with that family, James. They're a bit of a bad lot, you know."

"Not as bad as some," his mother replied. "They're not in with You-Know-Who yet..."

"Who's You-Know-Who?" James asked, as his mother realised what she'd said.

"Nobody dear. Now go to bed."

"Why? It's still early. You just don't want to tell me what's going on. You don't even let me read the paper any more..."

"James, you have to get up early to get to the train station in the morning...so GO TO BED!" James sat resolutely in his chair, not moving.

"James..." his father said warningly.

"I want to know what's going on. Who's this You-Know-Who you mentioned?"

"James, I've already told you," his mother said.

"Darling, maybe we should tell him. He's going to find out once he goes to Hogwarts anyway. People will be talking about it." Mr Potter said to his wife.

"_What?_" James demanded.

"Well, James, there is a wizard who has, well, appeared in the last year or so. He calls himself Lord – Lord..."

"Voldemort," Mr Potter finished for his wife. "He started gathering followers, saying he wanted to purify the magical community. At first it didn't seem that it would make much of a difference, but lately...Muggles have dyed mysteriously, people have been acting strangely. Of course, the Ministry will sort it out soon, they've started sending Aurors after him and his followers...it's nothing to worry about." He looked at his wife, who looked at the clock.

"Now you really should go to bed, James. Have you packed all your school things?"

"Yes Mum. Night."


End file.
